About Us

About Joanne

A little but more about me and where my passion for this business came from:

Joanne Wharam

Managing Director

Since 2013 I have been coaching accountants throughout the UK, as an independent coach offering them a tailormade support service to increase the connection and cooperation in their teams and bring the balance and financial rewards that they are looking for.

Having studied full time for my Masters in Psychology alongside growing my business and running a home I understand how challenging it can be. I too faced difficulties of balancing the different aspects of life and business at the same time. It was only through the support of the right people was I able to successfully sustain the business at the same time as achieving a merit on my MSc.

My intention for SMART was, and still is, to work more closely with my clients by helping them ‘see the wood from the trees’ and to quote one of my clients stop them being the ‘busy fool’. By working alongside them as part of their extended team I can support them to make sense of the things that are out of balance and offer them the support with all the aspects of running a practice that many accountants struggle with. I can bring them structures and organisation where they are perhaps feeling overwhelmed.

Where I believe I can offer the biggest impact to practice owners is that of helping them to get the very best out of their people. As an accountant I understand that you are trained mostly in how to deliver compliance services but not really on how to run a business, which is what owning your own practice is all about, let alone how to manage a team of people. Mostly my clients understand that their people are important, perhaps their biggest asset as well as cost, but they simply lack either the time or confidence to look after them in the best way.

Others perhaps struggle because whilst there are guidelines to follow when it comes to leadership and people management, because every individual is different there isn’t a definite process to follow that will generate a specific end result. On the flip side though some accountants running their own practice will struggle because there are people in their team who need a level of structure that they find uncomfortable and in some cases feel is unnecessary.

That is where my coaching support can be utilised to the fullest. By working cooperatively with the partners in the practice and with the team I can share my knowledge and expertise in understanding what really makes people tick and how to build an effective team. This means that employee well-being is increased which has a knock-on positive impact on productivity and subsequent profitability. More than that retention levels increase which should eliminate most of the headaches associated with recruitment.

Fundamentally working with me will mean that you can make the practice work even better for you and deliver the rewards you deserve whilst also maintain the right balance for you.

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Our Reviews

See what our clients say:

When we started to speak to Joanne in 2021 it was really important to us that we got someone on board that would help us involve and nurture our team more; giving the most important part of our business, the people, the attention and care it deserves. Joanne went through an extensive analysis of our team and meeting them all, following up with a core values session and then delivering our team six monthly appraisals along with monthly coaching support which covers business as well as team support. Our team feels better supported now, we understand more about what is important to them and we are able to more proactively develop them. We continue to rely on Joanne’s excellent support for the whole team.

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Thomas and Marie Szczepanski

The Sanders Partnership

Joanne is incredibly knowledgable in regards to business, employee engagement and in creating a business centered around core values. I’ve worked with her over the past year and she has been so supportive during a challenging time for me and my business. She has adapted and flexed her services to suit and been there for me to rant and cry. I would recommend her in a heartbeat!

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Nicola Sorrell

Effective Accounting

As an accountancy business, we regularly engage with individuals who possess diverse personalities. Completing the DISC report and participating in the review session with Joanne has proven to be an invaluable experience for my personal and professional growth. It has significantly enhanced my comprehension of different personality types and their implications in the workplace. Armed with this knowledge, I have gained effective approaches and communication strategies to engage with individuals from various personality backgrounds. I am genuinely grateful for Joanne's hard work and the profound impact it has had on my overall development.Moving forward, I intend to apply the insights obtained from the DISC report and training when interacting with clients. By identifying their unique personality traits and communication preferences, I will tailor my approach to better align with their needs, fostering stronger connections and promoting heightened client satisfaction. Ultimately, this will contribute to enhanced success in my professional relationships. I wholeheartedly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Joanne and wholeheartedly recommend her services to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of themselves and others within the workplace. Her expertise and unwavering dedication have undeniably made a positive impact on both my personal and professional journey.

Armed with this knowledge, I have gained effective approaches and communication strategies to engage with individuals from various personality backgrounds. I am genuinely grateful for Joanne's hard work and the profound impact it has had on my overall development. Moving forward, I intend to apply the insights obtained from the DISC report and training when interacting with clients.

By identifying their unique personality traits and communication preferences, I will tailor my approach to better align with their needs, fostering stronger connections and promoting heightened client satisfaction. Ultimately, this will contribute to enhanced success in my professional relationships.

I wholeheartedly appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Joanne and wholeheartedly recommend her services to anyone seeking a deeper understanding of themselves and others within the workplace. Her expertise and unwavering dedication have undeniably made a positive impact on both my personal and professional journey.

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Dan Edwards

D&K Accounting Ltd

How well do you know yourself? Do you believe you could know more and be better? I am a huge believer in – and advocate of – personal growth. I believe I can always know more and be better, so taking the opportunity to find out about my DiSC profile and learn more about myself and other people, was a no-brainer. Working with Jo has been hugely insightful. Exploring and understanding my DiSC profile has helped me to understand myself better, to better understand my strengths and weaknesses – and to be ok with that! In fact, it’s been incredibly freeing as it’s shown me blind spots that I didn’t know were there (yep, we all have them) and given me permission to be more fully ‘me’. It doesn’t stop there though, understanding DiSC profiles, has given me an even greater insight into other people. Having a sense of what ‘type’ of people are in my life – my husband, my family, my friends, my work colleagues, my clients and customers – has helped me to understand how to improve my relationships and interactions with all those people. Consequently, how I show up for those people has improved too. If you believe in people, and in the importance of investing in you and the quality of your relationships, then do not hesitate to book your DiSC profile session with Jo!

How well do you know yourself? Do you believe you could know more and be better?I am a huge believer in – and advocate of – personal growth. I believe I can always know more and be better, so taking the opportunity to find out about my DiSC profile and learn more about myself and other people, was a no-brainer.Working with Jo has been hugely insightful. Exploring and understanding my DiSC profile has helped me to understand myself better, to better understand my strengths and weaknesses – and to be ok with that! In fact, it’s been incredibly freeing as it’s shown me blind spots that I didn’t know were there (yep, we all have them) and given me permission to be more fully ‘me’.It doesn’t stop there though, understanding DiSC profiles, has given me an even greater insight into other people. Having a sense of what ‘type’ of people are in my life – my husband, my family, my friends, my work colleagues, my clients and customers – has helped me to understand how to improve my relationships and interactions with all those people. Consequently, how I show up for those people has improved too.If you believe in people, and in the importance of investing in you and the quality of your relationships, then do not hesitate to book your DiSC profile session with Jo!

Karolyn Gamble

Eat, Sleep, Mum, Repeat

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